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China History Forum, Chinese History Forum > Chinese History Topics > Ancient Chinese Arsenal
Killer Katanas
Sep 16 2006, 06:59 PM
I am curious about this weapon (I think it is caled a Chu-ko-nu?) and its use in Ming and Korean armies. In the orders of battle I have seen for the Imjin War, troops are said to be carrying bows, yet I know this repeating crossbow was used too.

Are bows just the typical bows, or do they also include these Chu-ko-nu? What percentage would be crossbow and regular bow?

Brian
Anthrophobia
Sep 16 2006, 08:00 PM
Bows are called gong, while crossbows are called nu. But just b/c they are said to use "nu" does not mean they used the Cho-ko-nu, which is just one type of crossbow.
Liang Jieming
Oct 3 2006, 10:50 PM
Hi Brian, what is your source that states the use of the zhugenu (chu-ko-nu) in the Imjin war?
Anthrophobia
Oct 3 2006, 10:53 PM
Didn't Conan(or was it Wujiang?) post Ming pictures of troops using giant chokonus on warships?
Liang Jieming
Oct 3 2006, 11:41 PM
Imjin war scroll
Killer Katanas
Oct 13 2006, 12:26 AM
QUOTE(Liang Jieming @ Oct 3 2006, 08:50 PM) [snapback]4852204[/snapback]
Hi Brian, what is your source that states the use of the zhugenu (chu-ko-nu) in the Imjin war?


All my information is coming from the book Imjin Chollansa. It mentions repeating crossbows and I assume they were called Chukonu.

I know now that I was wrong. I picked up a book on Chinese weapons at UCLA and it shows that a chukonu was a device that is quite different from what the soldier carried.

But what is the name of the repeating crossbow? The one I was referring to was carried by hand and it has a lever which, when pulled, would load another arrow from a bow fitted at the top of the bow.

Brian
Liang Jieming
Oct 13 2006, 01:23 AM
QUOTE(Killer Katanas @ Oct 13 2006, 01:26 PM) [snapback]4854426[/snapback]
All my information is coming from the book Imjin Chollansa. It mentions repeating crossbows and I assume they were called Chukonu.

I know now that I was wrong. I picked up a book on Chinese weapons at UCLA and it shows that a chukonu was a device that is quite different from what the soldier carried.

But what is the name of the repeating crossbow? The one I was referring to was carried by hand and it has a lever which, when pulled, would load another arrow from a bow fitted at the top of the bow.

Brian

Hi Brian,

The generic name for the multibolt crossbow is the Liannu. The Zhugenu (Pinyin) or Chukonu (Wade-Giles) is a handheld crossbow which was armed and fired with a vertical lever. There are zhugenu's depicted in a war scroll painting of the imjin war and was used by the Koreans against the Japanese.

I'm not sure what kind of repeating crossbow you are talking about from the lever you mentioned, it does sound like a zhugenu.

Here's how a zhugenu looks like.
http://www.chinahistoryforum.com/index.php?showtopic=3777
Wujiang
Oct 13 2006, 10:52 AM
The kind of liannu that fires more than one arrow at a time is more ancient that Zhuge Liang. There was a 2-bolt one that existed in the warring states era
Killer Katanas
Apr 20 2007, 11:39 AM
QUOTE(Liang Jieming @ Oct 12 2006, 11:23 PM) [snapback]4854439[/snapback]
There are zhugenu's depicted in a war scroll painting of the imjin war and was used by the Koreans against the Japanese.


Thanks for that.

You said that the Koreans used them, but did the Ming during this conflict?

Brian
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